8:20 PM: Gerard Gallant spoke after practice today and said (NYR):

• On Carolina tomorrow, “should be fun.”
• On playing Carolina twice and the battle for first place, “it’s all good, yea, we’re right there and I think they won last night, it should be fun, it’s a good game, big game, we’ve got nine left and try to play well in every game.”

• How does resting players impact the plan for the last nine games, “it plays into it, for sure, but we’ll do that one day at a time. If we think there is an issue with somebody getting too much ice time or think they need a day off then we’ll look at it. We’re going to do what is right for the team moving forward and see where it goes. It’s one day at a time thing, there is not a plan for the next nine games.”
• Does a race for first place energize you, “Yea, but the bigger picture is down the road. It’s exciting and should be two teams ready to play tomorrow for first place and that is going to be real exciting and see where it goes. Now, if you had a disappointing result tomorrow night it’s not the end of the world, but for playing nine games, there is something to look forward to and there is a battle. We are still battling for position in second place, so you gotta keep playing well and winning games and I love the way we had an attitude playing against Ottawa. I know Ottawa is out of the playoffs, but they still worked hard and competed hard and I liked the way our team came ready to play and that is what you like to see.”
• What jumps out about Carolina, “obviously they are one of the best teams in the league, they put a lot of forechecking pressure on you, if you aren’t ready to play then you’ll be in your zone the whole night. That is what they do, they’ve got some skill and talent, but they work really hard and that is how they play, they are in your face all night long.”
• What did you see from Kakko in his first game, back, “I liked him, I thought he was real good, him and Rooney both, for missing the time that they missed, they were both good players the other night and Kaapo had a couple of real good shifts down low where he spun off of guys and made some plays. I thought they played really well for a first game back, better than I expected, to be honest.”
• What do you attribute to how the team has been trending up, “I think we are playing better defensive hockey overall, smarter game, managing the puck better, it’s simple things. It’s not like we are changing a whole lot of systems, that’s not happening, puck management is better and giving up less Grade A chances and that is important. A couple of games against Jersey we had a real tough time with that, but for the most part we’ve taken care of the puck really well.”
• Would you consider resting someone on the back to back, “Not yet, no. I think you look at our schedule, after the last game, we’ve got a great schedule to finish with. Two back-to-backs, but two days off in-between those games and that is really important. We’ll play it one game at at time and if someone isn’t feeling good or somebody needs a rest, we’ve got no issue putting someone else in. We’ve got lots of good players here, so we’re not worried about that.”
• Did you think you’d be battling for first place, “Hard to say. I didn’t know how good the other teams were going to be. I knew we had a decent team, that we are going to be in a battle for a playoff spot, coming in I set our goals and I think we are going to be battling for a playoff spot. Did we play a little better after the first 15-20 games than I thought we were? Yea, we played better, but I started to know our players and know our team and it didn’t take long. It doesn’t surprise me now, but if you would have said that at the first of the year, I would have said, if I could said I would have said, ‘no, I don’t think that is going to happen…from the start of the season, before the season started our goal was to make the playoffs like every other team and I legitimately thought we had a good chance to make the playoffs and if you would have said ‘do you think you’ll be battling with Carolina for first place’ at that time, I probably would have said it’s not our goal, but it is now. Things change during the season, your players get more experience and the way our goaltender played all year, the goaltending has been excellent, so it gives you a chance to be there. Our team is playing better and it doesn’t shock me right now.”
• Do you use these last nine games to evaluate the depth, “one day at a time. We’re trying to win hockey games and if we’re playing real well and a guy gets banged up a little bit, he’s probably not going to play. Most important thing is to make sure we are healthy, but we’re trying to win every hockey game we play.”
• On the security of having a goalie play as well as Shesterkin, “you feel real good about it. When they’re playing like that it just carries over to your team and it makes your players a lot more comfortable playing the games. We don’t want to go out and tell our players they can’t make mistakes, can’t do this, can’t do that. We wanna go out there and be aggressive and Panarin to make those plays and sometimes they don’t work all the time, but that is what he is, he makes those great plays and sometimes they don’t work and go the other way and they get odd-man rushes. We want our team to play the right way.”
• Any update on Chytil, “he skated today, should be fine, but I haven’t heard anything. The trainer will tell me this afternoon how he got along, but he looked fine out there.”
• So Chytil is coming along, “yea, he looks good. Is he cleared to play yet? I’ll find out later this afternoon.”
• Would you be comfortable in the playoffs with a young like of Lafreniere, Chytil and Kakko, “I got no issue, they’ve played better hockey.”
• Would you prefer to have a veteran there, “don’t matter. Whoever is playing the best or I think is going to match up best with their lines.”
• Have you ever seen a goalie play the puck like Igor does, “there are a couple of good goalies in the league, but I think he plays it and moves it real well. As long as he doesn’t get too carried away, he’s been really good. I don’t want to jinx him.”
• He’s probably looking for a goal in these last nine, “I think he looks that every game…”
• Nemeth is okay, “yep.”

11:08 AM: Filip Chytil skated today with the extra forwards and Patrik Nemeth didn’t skate with what the team called “personal reasons.” (Stephenson)

The lines used were (Stephenson):

• Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Frank Vatrano
• Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Andrew Copp
• Alexis Lafreniere, Barclay Goodrow, Kaapo Kakko
• Dryden Hunt, Kevin Rooney, Ryan Reaves
• Greg McKegg, Filip Chytil, Jonny Brodzinski, Julien Gauthier